This Issaquah investigative reporter doubles as a decorated biathlete

Masters biathlon competitor Martha Bellisle, of Issaquah, 64, doesn’t let her age dictate her performance. In fact, Bellisle — an Associated Press investigative reporter by day — says she feels decades younger when competing with her rifle and skis. 

“I feel like I’m in my 40s to 50s. I can win races and compete with people in younger age groups,” Bellisle said. “It’s not an age thing, it’s a matter of going hard. Biathlon is a great equalizer because there might be someone who can ski well, but maybe there’s another person who can shoot better.”

Bellisle has found quick success since picking up the rifle less than 10 years ago, but the lifelong athlete didn’t dream of becoming a decorated biathlon competitor. A work assignment at the Olympics piqued her interest in the Nordic sport that combines cross-country skiing with marksmanship, pairing a cardio-intensive workout with a stationary activity demanding intense focus. The sport has since become Bellisle’s passion. 

The reporter was no stranger to the snow nor competitive sports when she was tasked with covering the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Bellisle began her own athletic career in the 1980s as a road cyclist in Boulder, Colorado, and has tried running, climbing and backcountry skiing. When she moved to Truckee, California, in 2001, the five world-class Nordic ski centers in town lured her into cross-country skiing. She spent nearly every winter weekend for some 15 years racing competitively in the Lake Tahoe area, winning three medals in the Masters U.S. National Championships during that time. 

That background made Bellisle a uniquely expert source for stories from Sochi about cross-country skiing, luge, Alpine skiing and more. The biathlon caught her eye; she spent a lot of time watching the events, covering some of the races, becoming increasingly intrigued.

Later that year, Bellisle moved to Seattle for a job with the AP but initially found it challenging to continue cross-country skiing with the same regularity without as many options. 

During a winter trip to a ski festival in West Yellowstone that year, Bellisle took a beginner biathlon clinic and was hooked. Back home, she completed her Red Book certification, the safety requirement that allows participants to compete in races. Bellisle began racing on the Washington Biathlon Association circuit and loved it so much she eventually joined Methow Valley Biathlon, purchased her own gun and participated in races every chance she got. 

That enthusiasm has resulted in quite the collection of hardware. Since picking up the sport in her 50s, Bellisle has won 10 gold medals and a hefty handful of silvers and bronzes between the Biathlon Masters International Championships, U.S. Nationals and Winter World Masters Games. 

“For someone to practice that much clearly shows that she’s very dedicated and passionate about the sport,” said Matt Gallagher, a WBA board member and fellow Masters biathlon racer. “That led directly to the success that she’s enjoyed.”

So … what exactly is biathlon?

“You’re taking two disciplines that couldn’t be more different,” Gallagher said. “It’s like trying to ride a bicycle while washing dishes.”

The unique sport has a long history. Initially developed by 17th-century Scandinavian militaries, the first recorded event took place along the Norway-Sweden border in 1767. The first biathlon club was established in 1861 in Norway, with similar clubs popping up throughout Europe soon after.

Biathlon became an official Olympic sport at the 1960 Winter Games in Squaw Valley, California. The first international biathlon competition for women was held in 1981, with its Olympic debut coming more than a decade later at the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France. It is the only winter Olympic sport in which the U.S. has never won a medal.

As an athlete, it’s a really complex sport. 

The biathlon comprises seven events — the sprint, individual, pursuit, relay, mass start, single mixed relay and super sprint. In each, athletes must cross-country ski loops around a track as fast as they can while carrying a .22-caliber rifle specifically designed for the sport. The athletes stop at a shooting range in between laps to shoot at five targets 50 meters away. Missed targets result in either a penalty lap or extra time on the final score.

Developing the skills to train the body and brain for peak performance in the event takes hours of dedicated training. But training in Washington — and the U.S. in general — is tricky. Ideally, you need a biathlon range, something that’s not readily available at every Nordic center.

Bellisle spends anywhere between eight and 18 hours training each week. She goes cross-country skiing during the winter, of course, but also does offseason, off-snow workouts on her roller-skis around Issaquah. In the summer, training also involves running and strength training. She swims weekly and does regular physical therapy exercises to keep injuries at bay; across her cross-country skiing career, Bellisle has had three shoulder surgeries and a knee surgery. 

“Her success is reflective of her dedication and love for the sport,” Gallagher said. “She clearly loves the skiing aspect, but it’s the shooting that really requires a lot of time and discipline.”

To hone her expert aim, Bellisle spends lots of time practicing dry fire exercises: drills biathletes will practice without ammunition. They unload their rifles off their backs, go prone and take shots at a target off the wall. These drills help athletes develop the muscle memory, breathing techniques and shooting skills necessary to switch from high-intensity cardio to stationary target shooting.

And at the Renton Fish & Game Club, where Bellisle practices live-fire exercises, she was granted permission to leave her rifle at the range, run around the range to get her heart rate up and then return to shoot.

These exercises train biathletes to get their heart rate up to close to maximum capacity before slowing down to a stop in order to shoot. Bellisle’s maximum heart rate falls around 180 beats per minute.

In the beginning of her biathlon career, before she developed this rigorous, all-season training regimen, Bellisle would head to Whistler because it was the nearest facility with a biathlon range. Otherwise, racing became her training. 

“I’d go up to Whistler, then come back and be home, then go to Truckee, then to Colorado, Casper or West Yellowstone for a race,” she said.

Evidently, the hard work is paying off. The medal count speaks for itself. 

When Bellisle steps up to the shooting belt during competitions, she shuts off the noise and moves through the motions of setting up her shot. 

Around her, other competitors leave and enter the range. There are photographers snapping photos and that one voice that breaks through the noise of the crowd. As her stomach raises and lowers with every pant, so does her gun. She must focus only on her breath.

“You have to fight the urge to let anything else in and make sure that you’re 100% focused on what you are doing,” Bellisle said. “It takes a huge amount of discipline.”

Once she has their eye on the target, Bellisle takes a half-breath in between pants, holds still and pulls the trigger. She repeats the process four more times before clicking back into her skis to dash off on another lap, her eyes trained on the track and her next medal.